New Lebanon govt manifesto ready on Friday: minister

0 Comments | AFP, July, 2008

BEIRUT (AFP) — A manifesto that will allow the new Lebanon government to take office will be ready on Friday, Information Minister Tareq Mitri said on Thursday.

"The meeting tomorrow will be the last and we will submit the declaration of the policy statement to the government so it can be ratified as soon as possible," Mitri told journalists.

A new national unity cabinet was formed two weeks ago, but negotiations on a manifesto have been hampered by disputes on the issue of weapons held by Hezbollah, the powerful Shiite Muslim political movement and militia.

Mitri, on a joint committee of anti-Syrian parliamentary majority ministers and Syria- and Iran-backed ministers, was speaking after the cabinet met for the 13th time in nearly three weeks to try to...